Most schoolchildren can recite the founding date of the United States of America: July 4, 1776. But a searing project from the New York Times Magazine changes that date to August 20, 1619鈥攖he day 20 enslaved Africans first arrived on Virginia soil.
is a collection of essays and literary works observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. 鈥淣o aspect of the country that would be formed here has been untouched by the years of slavery that followed,鈥� the project begins.
But as Nikole Hannah-Jones, the project鈥檚 lead author, , the prevailing narrative taught in schools is that black Americans鈥� history begins with enslavement and they had contributed little to the founding of this nation. Instead, she writes, 鈥渋t is we who have been the perfecters of this democracy.鈥�
The published online today and it is my profound hope that we will reframe for our readers the way we understand our nation, the legacy of slavery, and most importantly, the unparalleled role black people have played in this democracy.
鈥� Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones)
To bring this groundbreaking project into the classroom, the Pulitzer Center for teachers of all grade levels. The curriculum asks students to examine the history and the legacy of slavery in the United States, as well as our national memory.
A report last year from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights and advocacy organization, found there鈥檚 no systematic approach to teaching slavery in schools鈥攁nd lessons often miss crucial components to understanding this fundamental American topic. It鈥檚 taught as a Southern phenomenon, rather than something originally sanctioned in the Constitution, and the voices and experiences of enslaved people are generally left out. And just over half of the teachers surveyed said they spoke about the continued legacy of slavery.
Many teachers surveyed said they were concerned about terrifying black children or making white children feel guilty. (There are also teachers who do slavery simulations, like a mock slave auction or a game about the Underground Railroad, to try to convey the brutality鈥攂ut experts and educators say that these simulations can minimize horrific events and cause emotional trauma to black students.)
Even so, frank conversations about the legacy of slavery are important. In her keynote essay for the 1619 Project, Hannah-Jones writes that she had been taught in school 鈥渢hrough cultural osmosis鈥� that black Americans didn鈥檛 have a strong claim to the American flag.
鈥淚 wish, now, that I could go back to the younger me and tell her that her people鈥檚 ancestry started here, on these lands, and to boldly, proudly, draw the stars and those stripes of the American flag,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淲e were told once, by virtue of our bondage, that we could never be American. But it was by virtue of our bondage that we became the most American of all.鈥�
Engaging Students
The Pulitzer Center curriculum offers discussion questions and guided reading, as well as activities that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Fareed Mostoufi, the senior education manager for the Pulitzer Center, said Hannah-Jones and editors at the New York Times were eager for educators across grade levels to reconsider how slavery is taught.
The includes broad questions that can be posed to students even if they鈥檙e not ready to read the full project, he said. And the Pulitzer Center pulled out quotes and key names, dates, and terms from each essay in the 1619 Project, so educators can identify which ones are right for their students.
The in the curriculum is based on Hannah-Jones鈥� essay 鈥淭he Idea of America.鈥� It asks students to consider the values stated in the Declaration of Independence and how they work鈥攁nd fail鈥攊n American society today.
Then, students would read the essay and consider their own prior knowledge of slavery and the contributions of black Americans to U.S. society. They could use one of two provided graphic organizers to guide their reading. There鈥檚 a list of questions for students to discuss as a class, including: What did you learn about major figures in U.S. history, like Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, and why do you think this information wasn鈥檛 included in other historical resources?
include creating a new timeline of U.S. history, starting with the year 1619, and creating an infographic that visualizes racial inequity in the United States and its links to slavery. Students can also construct their family history based on interviews with their parents and grandparents鈥攂ut they can also imagine their ancestry, claiming descent from 鈥渋ntellectual, artistic, or spiritual parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents.鈥� Another activity asks students to research black American innovators.
And the Pulitzer Center has to share their own lessons developed from the 1619 Project. The center will highlight select lessons and student work in the coming months.
鈥淚鈥檓 curious to see how it goes, and I鈥檓 excited the issue really makes the case for opening this topic up and really embracing the discomfort,鈥� Mostoufi said.
On Twitter, many educators said they were eager to bring the conversations inspired by the 1619 Project into their classroom:
The essays in will certainly help my students better understand that the world they live in was shaped, in so many ways, by the history of colonial slavery and its evolution through the antebellum period. Whether we like it or not, we live OUT the past.
-- Kevin M. Levin (@KevinLevin)
the from et al is truly remarkable-- cannot wait to share with students next month. the 1776/1619 visual alone would inspire discussion bell to bell.
-- Eric LaForest (@Eric_LaForest)
Starting a unit on the thirteen colonies soon & I am thrilled to have these resources to use w/ students. It鈥檚 a challenge of teaching history to middle schoolers to make it relevant, so the emotional impact of and the connections to modern issues will be so valuable
-- exuent pursued by communist 馃尮 (@cassattack2233)
So far, the No. 1 question teachers seemed to have on Twitter is how they can get enough copies of the 1619 Project to share with their students. The Pulitzer Center .
Mark Schulte, the K-12 education director for the Pulitzer Center, said the organization is now planning an education tour with Hannah-Jones, where she can talk to high school and college students about the themes and questions in this work. One of the first stops will be an all-school assembly at Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago鈥攆ormer First Lady Michelle Obama鈥檚 alma mater鈥攐n Oct. 8.
Already, Schulte said, there鈥檚 an incredible amount of interest in the project, and the essays are getting in the hands of people who might not normally read the New York Times.
鈥淚 have to believe that this is going to really change the way history is being taught in this country,鈥� he said.
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